Pike Pleads For Second Chance

John Pike, whose company Adelaide City Entertainment ran the Heaven nightclub until it collapsed with A$2.5 million worth of debts, appeared at the Liquor Licensing Court in Australia to reverse a ban on him.

Pike was banned from running a licensed venue in 2006 after police said he associated with bikers and paid a member of the Hells Angels $5,000 a week for two years to provide security at Heaven.

A new Heaven nightclub was re-launched Sept. 23 by hairdresser Orlando Farese and his wife Angela. Police tried to stop the club from reopening when it heard that Pike was hired to book acts.

He told the court he needed the gig, as he had been out of work for five years, was bankrupt until April 2009 and hospitalised for depression. A decision will be made late October.